Whether you’re currently using Shopify or another e-commerce platform, it’s always advisable to reevaluate your eCommerce needs. Shopify Plus might just be the solution to your problems!

For those who haven’t heard about Shopify Plus, it’s an enterprise eCommerce platform ideal for rapidly growing businesses that require more comprehensive features to support growth and a more efficient eCommerce site in general. The reality is that high volume merchants processing lots of transactions require more hands-on bespoke support to ensure the solution fits their specific requirements.

In 2016, Shopify Plus eStores experienced an average growth of 126%, which clearly shows that it does what it says on the tin (so to speak). Simply by taking care of the technical responsibility, providing unlimited bandwidth and secure servers, it leaves merchants more time to focus on what they do best - growing their business.

So how do you know if it’s time for you to upgrade your current eCommerce provider, and why choose Shopify Plus? Here are few reasons why Shopify Plus might be perfect for your eCommerce business.

1) Growth

If your Shopify store has been a huge success, it might be time to move on to something bigger and better. Shopify Plus is aimed at store owners generating five-figure monthly sales. If you fit the bill, the decision to upgrade to Shopify Plus from Shopify will make your life easier by giving your eCommerce site flexibility and the ability to scale depending on the volume of transactions.

2) Expertise

One of the perks that come with being a Shopify Plus merchant is the hands-on support from Shopify itself. Shopify Plus offer an extra level of expertise and services dedicated to helping you grow your business. This begins as soon as you start the upgrade process. You will have dedicated launch managers to walk you through every step of the process. This includes access to their 24/7 priority support team with a dedicated support number. So why not let Shopify Do The Legwork

3) Security

Shopify Plus offers a fully branded experience with custom domains, dedicated SSL certificates for added security and customer reassurance. Another Shopify Plus advantage is its responsive layouts designed to increase customer engagement and retention. You also have access to checkout.liquid, allowing you to create custom, responsive designs starting from your homepage to check-out, ensuring a streamlined customer journey.

4) Sales

The whole point of business is to increase sales, and that is at the very core of Shopify Plus. The platform has been purposely designed to handle high volume, without any disruption to you the buyer experience. That includes: 99.99% uptime, no risk of site crashes during flash sales, expert launch managers on hand, discounted apps and access to lots of coupons and discount APIs.5) Bandwidth

5) Bandwidth

You can upload as many products as you need, without even the slighted impact to your website or service. Unlimited bandwidth lets you handle massive sudden influxes in traffic (up to 500,000 hits per minute!) Your storage capacity is an unbelievable 200TB, which will be more than enough for even some of the busiest sites. You can rest assured in the knowledge that Shopify Plus can handle high volume at any particular time, preventing a potential site crash.

6) API

Shopify Plus has a REST API package, enabling developers to create applications for your store. For example, developers can use the API to integrate the ERP, CRM and accounting software that you currently use. Shopify Plus customers also receive a discount on selected apps, which can be easily integrated into your eStore. A combination of the right apps and Shopify Plus can turn your site into an automated money making machine.

7) Multi-Platforms

A huge advantage of Shopify Plus is the calibre of multi-channel platform integrations. Merchants are able to sell products across multiple marketplaces and social media, and all from the comfort of your Shopify admin panel. Shopify Plus currently integrates with the likes of Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Pinterest and many more. If you need help getting started, there are lots of fantastic Shopify Experts who specialise in optimising your multi-channel listings.

8) Fees

One of the biggest pain points for Shopify merchants is transaction fees! It’s somewhat of a double edged sword: the excitement of watching your sales volume increase and the reality that your transaction fees are also increasing. Shopify credit card fees range from 2.2% - 2.9%, plus an additional 30 cents per transaction. Say goodbye to transaction fees with Shopify Plus, and focus on maximising your profits. Not only will this help to reduce overheads, but it will allow you to budget your outgoing expenses without the risk of unexpected Shopify bills.

9) Migration

Your dedicated launch manager will introduce you to a range of re-platforming tools. Shopify has a partnership with nChannel that gives you access to a free standard migration of up to 500,000 SKUs, 500,000 orders and one million customers. In other words, unless your site is absolutely enormous, the bulk of the upgrade work will be done automatically and free of charge.

10) Support

With moving SKUs, orders and customer details all in hand, the complicated part of any re-platforming process is getting to grips with things like hosting, security and site architecture. But when you upgrade to Shopify Plus from Shopify, all those things are already taken care of, as you will know from your time using Shopify. As earlier mentioned, with Shopify Plus you get additional security, industry-leading hosting with 99.99% uptime, and unlimited bandwidth.

11) Success

Now we’re down to the finer details of your upgrade process. You will be teamed up with a Merchant Success Manager whose job - you won’t be surprised to learn - is to make your store a success. They will introduce you to all the finishing touches to boost your Shopify Plus sales: payment gateways, apps, customisable checkout pages, mobile-first checkouts and just about anything else you might need. You can rely on your Merchant Success Manager’s expertise to advise you on the best of what’s out there.

So where does Underwaterpistol fit into all this?

For those of you who are already UWP customers, you already know that we have a team on hand to help you, no matter what stage of the eCommerce journey you’re at. We’ll be able to get your store looking exactly as you want it, integrate apps and digital marketing strategies that will drive sales. We can develop any bespoke functionality you need to make sure your website does exactly what you need it to do.

We’re Shopify Plus Experts, which means we’re accredited by Shopify to help enterprise businesses get up and running on the platform successfully. Rely on our Shopify design, development and digital marketing skills - plus our experience of what has worked for other Shopify Plus merchants - to scale your store to the next level.